Darkest Dungeon Full Release Date: January 19, 2016!

It's been a busy couple of months, culminating in the Cove release which we hope you have all been enjoying!

This community has grown beyond our expectations, and we're both grateful and humbled by your support, ideas, critiques, and feedback throughout this past year.

From the moment we launched early access back in February, we had two important priorities: regularly deliver exciting, meaty updates to the game, and ship the full release this year. We recognized that October would not only be an awesome thematic fit for the full release, but it was early enough in the year to avoid getting swept away by the massive AAA releases around Thanksgiving.

As many of you know, game development has a great many dependencies and variables. Between PAX's, Coves, & corpses, it became clear that an October date would mean rushing our endgame content out the door - a move that would ultimately not be in anyone's best interest. So, we looked at the December 1st timeframe - it would be tight, but with a few lucky bounces and a whole lot of focus, it was doable. A Death Star trench run with Obiwan gently whispering in our ears.

Unfortunately, late last week Chris' father-in-law passed away suddenly. Given our small team size, events such as these have a measurable effect on development. If anyone is out of action, it means delays because each person's job is highly specialized.

As a result, we have set January 19th as our Official Launch Day.

In keeping with our commitment to regular content updates, we'll be dropping an interim patch towards the end of November that introduces a new playable hero: The Abomination! Designed in collaboration with our Lord tier Kickstarter backer, this bloodthirsty class is unlike anything currently in the game. Keep your eyes peeled for the full reveal in the coming weeks! This update will also include two decidedly unsettling backer-designed monsters, as well as some other 'goodies'! You can also expect continued hotfixes as necessary.

As always, a very sincere thanks to all of you who have supported this game from the beginning and made the game and the community something special. We are truly on the home stretch, and we are incredibly excited to bring this game to completion...and beyond!

A) These will still be completed in time for full release! We have already started the technical infrastructure work and are just finalizing the surveys we will be sending out to you soon.

Q) When will I receive my art print, diorama, and art book?

A) The art book and diorama will be shipping after final release. We have to complete the game art (including the Darkest Dungeon monsters) before we can finish production on these. But rest assured we haven't forgotten about them!

Q) [Heir and higher tiers] When will I receive my narration reward?

A) You should have received an email survey asking for your line. Check your email folders. If you believe you should have received one but haven't, email us at backersupport@redhookgames.com.

My condolences, even with that you manage to keep up the work at a good pace, wich I'am very grateful.
And, if you're not happy with the game at the moment of the release, please delay it. I want to play a game that you're very proud of.

Superbacker

Have anything been said about possible tweaks on the heart attack mechanic? Everything in the game is more or less random, but the heart attacks seem like a countdown timer that's set in stone until it's game over, which feels completely out of place. It also clashes with the corpses which only prolongs battles, making the count down to heart attack even worse.

I know you can turn it off, but the developers want people to use these features, right?

Haven't tried out the game yet. Still weaiting for it to be complete before I do so I can get that entire experience feel from it in the first go. Not a lot of excited news from some people I know who have tried out the early versions, however none have said anything bad about it. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
A later full release is honestly fine by me. I'm swamped currently in catching up with things. X.x
Even then, not sure if giving us a date is wise. Best leave the answer as a definitive, "When it's done, it's done" and only mention a release date once its truely is complete and only final bug fixes are being done.

A error in the picture above. There is no 19th month. Not enough coffee in the building? :P

Sorry for your loss, Chris. Hope you and your family receive the support that they need in this time of sadness.

Thank you on the update for the release date. Been enjoying the EA since the beginning (aside from The Cove update. F*$# those Sword/Spear Mermen).
A couple questions:
1) Will the Merchant class be included in the Abomination class update? What's the progress on that?
2) Since the Abomination class update may be have a large amount of content, will that also include any updates to the others classes' skills and trinkets?
3) These 2 backer-created monsters, are they being added to specific dungeons, or across the board?
Beside that, looking forward to [beating/running from] what lurks in the Darkest Dungeon...

My condolences to Chris, it must be hard to work at a time like this. Feel better. Glad to hear the project has a release date! The game is great thus far! One question - is it at all possible to grab a copy of the art book as an add-on?

Sorry to hear about Chris' loss, but excited for the rest of the news! I've really enjoyed your product, even back when it was nothing more than some concept art and a trailer on a webpage back in 2013!